Sony: ‘Gran Turismo 6’ is Still a PS3 Title

It’s been a little over a week since Sony officially unveiled the PS4, their next-gen console that features substantially improved system specs, exciting new features, and some intriguing new titles. However, Sony isn’t leaving the PS3 in the dust, in fact they are still very much involved in the PS3 game development business.

Within the next month or so gamers will see not one but two PS3 exclusives released (God of War: Ascension and The Last of Us), but those are only the tip of the iceberg. Among those forthcoming PS3 games include Gran Turismo 6.

Post-PS4 unveiling it was assumed that any game in development for PS3 would be siphoned off to the PS4, however, that is apparently not the case with Gran Turismo 6, or at least that’s not the impression SCEE Senior Vice President Michael Denny is giving off.

Speaking with Silicon Republic, Denny cited two upcoming games for the PS3 — a new Assassin’s Creed” and “GT6.” Earlier today Ubisoft officially confirmed that the next Assassin’s Creed will be titled Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag, and will feature a new pirate protagonist. The franchise will also be making the jump to the Caribbean, where naval combat will presumably play an even larger role this time around.

“Look at the games coming out on the PlayStation 3 like The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, GT6, and then on the third-party side of things another fantastic Assassin’s Creed, GTA. It’s important for our content to have that kind of longevity because, as I was saying [about the PS Vita], the games that come through are going to get better and better over time.”

As far as Gran Turismo 6 is concerned, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding Polyphony Digital‘s sequel. We know development started as early as 2010, and a Vita version is in consideration, but that’s about it. Denny does not outright nix the idea of Gran Turismo 6 being a simultaneous release on both PS3 and PS4, but his focus on mentioning longevity and the PS3 is intriguing.

It’s also a possibility that Gran Turismo 6 has been in development for so long (as they have been known to be) that Polyphony cannot easily port it over to the PS4. We’re not developers, though, so that’s purely speculation.

Ironically, Sony already has its PS4 exclusive racing game for fans to look forward to: Drive Club. A vision that has taken 6+ years to realize, Drive Club appeared to be the next evolution of Gran Turismo, but that is apparently not the case.

That said, the detail in the cars looked incredible in Drive Club; on par, if not better, with what gamers have come to expect from Gran Turismo. We may just have a racing game battle on our hands.

Can Sony sustain two console-exclusive racing franchises? Would you like to see a PS4 version of Gran Turismo 6?